Fears to Face
by Chi Briar
Summary: Dr. Crane, patient at what used to be his psych ward has escaped after a chance meeting with a young girl named Alyss Cromwell. Both of them will be learning a lesson in overcoming fear and gaining love.  I wrote this for a friend of mine.  Scarecrow/OC
1. Chapter One: Alyss in Asylumland

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of Batman or any of its characters. I do not make any profit than simply enjoyment of writing and hopefully, the enjoyment of the readers.

_Chi: _ This was written for my "sister", Color. Hope you like it, Color!

Fears to Face

Chapter One – Alyss in Aslyumland

Alyss smiled back at the short-haired brunette woman as she stood up.

"Thank you so much for your help," Alyss said sincerely, holding her hand out. The girl shook it warmly.

"Anytime," replied the woman who'd previously introduced herself as Elizabethe Criste. Elli for short.

Alyss bent down to start picking up her notes and things, her long chocolate brown hair with auburn highlights curtaining her tan face. She used her long nails, more like talons than anything else, to pry the paper from the simple metal desk. Her medium height was tall compared to short Elli. She smoothed the gray t-shirt depicting a cat playing a fiddle over her flat stomach and curvy figure. She wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a similar denim jacket.

"You know," Elli said, getting up as well and putting her lab coat back on. She snagged a pair of latex gloves and put them on. Going to a cabinet, she sorted through to find a small bottle of medicine and tuck it into her pocket. "It's about time for Dr. Crane to receive his medicine and he should be very lucid. Enough to answer a few questions. I'm sure he'd have an interesting viewpoint, considering he used to run this asylum before he became a patient."

Alyss looked up from tucking her things away in her black Nightmare Before Christmas messenger bag. "Really?"

The new director of Arkham Asylum opened the door for Alyss and led the young college student down the hallways. Taking out the keys, Elli unlocked the door and walked in. Both girls were immediately shocked by the state the man was in.

Piercing blue eyes stared at them behind a fringe of brown hair. The straightjacket clung to his thin figure and he looked dirty. What really caught the girls' attention were the large bruises and cuts on his face.

Dr. Criste immediately stepped forward, a phone to her ear, snapping orders for a first aid kit to be brought to cell 57 immediately. It was brought quickly and the young director got to work cleaning him up. Alyss just watched, her eyes transfixed on Dr. Crane's. She barely noticed Elli's quick orders, swift medical care, and when they yelling started.

"How did this happen!" She was helping Dr. Crane to take his medicine while a few staff members stood around awkwardly.

It wasn't long before the staff had been rushed out and Elli turned to Alyss. "Miss Cromwell," she said formally, "I'd like to apologize. Part of his illness is self-mutilation. I had not realized his condition had gotten so bad."

Alyss nodded and sat down at the offered chair opposite of Dr. Crane.

Elli took a step towards the door. "I'll leave you to it, then. When you want to leave, hit the button on the door and I'll come and get you."

"Thank you."

When Alyss heard the door close she cleared her throat and looked into those beautiful haunted blue eyes. "I'm Alyss Cromwell. I'm doing an article on Arkham Asylum for my journalism class. I'd like to ask you a few questions." It was the sentence she'd practiced saying over and over again.

"How old are you?"

The question caught her off guard. "Um, I'm 18."

"How long have you been in Gotham University?"

"Two years now. Can I ask you—"

"Why are you taking a journalism class?"

"I'm majoring in writing. Anyway, I came to ask _you_ questions."

Dr. Crane had been leaning forward when he was asking questions. Now, he slumped back.

Alyss took out her notebook. "What is your full name?"

"Jonathan Crane. Why don't you clip your nails to a normal length?"

"Because I like them long. How old are you?"

"Twenty-seven. When is the last time you cut your hair?"

"I haven't cut my hair since I was four," she said, remembering the incident. She had tried to cut it herself. She realized she was getting sidetracked and got annoyed. "Look, I came to ask you questions, not to give out answers."

He just stared at her, not unlike a cat, until finally he opened his mouth to say: "Now that's not very fair of you, is it?" His smile made her shiver.

She started to put her notebook into her bag and get up. "Well, then, I see this was a waste of—"

"I didn't say I wouldn't answer questions. I just want to be able to ask questions in return."

She turned in time to see the sad look in his face. She realized he must be very lonely. "Okay." She sat back down slowly.

She asked a question, and he answered. Then it was his turn. She learned about his thoughts on fear, twisted, but somehow understandable to a sane person. Because of his detailed knowledge of pharmaceuticals and the fact that he had to take a lot of pills himself he was able to give her vital information on how the drugs worked. He gave such honest answers about life as an Arkham Asylum patient that she'd almost wished she'd never asked.

Alyss stayed true to the bargain and answered things about herself. Dr. Crane's questions ranged from what she liked to eat, to how university life was for her, to (most uncomfortable) what she feared (dolls and darkness). By the end of the interview she had two things on her mind: that Dr. Crane was not your average psych ward patient, and that she wanted to leave.

She got up, her notebook full of the information he had provided her. "Thank you," she said.

"You're very beautiful, you know," he said, a very serious look on his face.

She blushed. It was nice to hear that from a handsome man, insane or not. She mumbled some sort of garbled, embarrassed thanks and pressed the button at the door.

A few seconds later, Dr. Criste opened it up and as the university student walked out of the room she thought she heard Jonathan Crane whisper: "I'll see you again, Alyss Cromwell."

_Author's Note:_ I wrote this for my good friend and I hope you like it. This project was originally going to be a one shot, but I decided to expand it for the sake of Color.

Color, I hope you liked this and you had better review, gosh darn it! Or I'm not letting you read any more of it!

Anyone who wants to argue about Alyss being a Mary Sue can eat my foot. I've based this character very accurately on someone in real life with only minor adjustments. If you want to call her a Mary Sue, then you're just calling her perfect.

Oh, and yes, I am a diehard Scarecrow fan and I do realize I've changed his character a bit to help make this a romance story. This is based after Batman Begins.

Anyway, ENJOY!


	2. Chapter Two: Through the Magnifying Glas

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of Batman or any of its characters. I do not make any profit than simply enjoyment of writing and hopefully, the enjoyment of the readers.

_Chi: _ Wow! Thanks so much for your reviews, everyone! I didn't think this story would interest anyone, but my friend Color! Now that I know that, I'll spend a great deal more time on the actual writing rather than just spitting the story out.

Fears to Face

Chapter Two – Through the Magnifying Glass

_A week after Alyss Cromwell's interview with Dr. Jonathan Crane._

Alyss was up late, typing furiously away at her keyboard as she rushed to get her midterm finished. For the last week she had pushed it out of the way, preferring to work on her mystery novel instead. When she had taken up the journalism assignment she had done so for a hidden motive. Her story involved Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) and she was using the research she gained for her assignment to aid her writing.

Tucking a strand of reddish brown hair back behind an ear, her chocolate brown eyes darted towards the digital clock on the desk. The glowing numbers declared that it was already past one-in-the-morning. Heaving a sigh, she closed her laptop with a snap. Suddenly, her cell phone rang. She grabbed it and answered.

"Hello?"

"Hi. Is Alyss Cromwell there?" It was a voice she didn't recognize, but it sounded official.

"Yes, this is her."

"I'm Officer Penelton. I've called to ask you a few questions concerning your recent visit to Arkham Asylum. I know that it is a late hour, but it pertains to an investigation currently going on and these questions need to be answered immediately."

Alyss was stunned into silence for a few seconds. "Um. Yeah. What do you need?"

The officer proceeded to question her on her interactions with Dr. Crane. Questions like: "Did he speak about any sort of escape?" "What was their conversation like?" "How did he act?"

Alyss' answers only seemed to frustrate the man on the other end. He sounded exhausted and annoyed even though she was trying her hardest to be helpful. Finally, he snapped: "Is that all you remember?"

"Yes," she could feel his hopelessness over the line, "I'm sorry I couldn't be very much help."

Officer Penelton sighed. "I'm sorry I got a little frustrated there. We have absolutely no leads except you and you are a dead end."

"Lead on what?"

"Dr. Jonathan Crane has escaped from Arkham Asylum."

They talked a bit more for courtesy's sake before quickly saying goodbye. The conversation left Alyss with a metal taste in her mouth and a sense of paranoia. Dr. Crane's whispered words came back to her: "I'll see you again, Alyss Cromwell."

She had forgotten to mention that to the police. Or that he'd called her beautiful. Shaking her head, she tried to erase that irrelevant information from her mind. It _was_ irrelevant. Just a madman's babbling. She had to remind herself that he seemed sane only because he'd just taken his pills. That was him at his best. He was still just a crazy man.

After convincing herself that his breakout had nothing to do with her and that she was perfectly safe she went around her house locking all the doors and windows.

"He isn't going to come after me," she whispered to one of her three cats, a little black girl named Zero who curled up against her stomach as Alyss laid on her side, clutching a heavy costume cane in her hands.

She fell asleep with all the lights in her house on.

_Crane's POV_

Dr. Jonathan Crane was sitting very comfortably in an abandoned room (one of many in the old crumbling apartment complex across the street from Alyss Cromwell's newer apartment complex). The old resident's had left moth-bitten furniture and rats. He didn't mind sharing a room with rats, as long as they didn't have wings.

He shivered, reminded of his one weakness, his one fear: Bat-man. No, not "Batman", all one word, no hyphen. "Bat-man". Two words, hyphenated to prove more significance. He said the cursed name out loud, whispering it to the dark that surrounded him, pronouncing every damned syllable.

Bat-man had ruined him. Dr. Jonathan Crane had feared nothing before meeting the savior of Gotham City, but for the prestigious psych ward director it resulted in a concentrated overdose of his own fear-inducing gas. The toxin shattered his mind, making him lose the mental barrier between him and Scarecrow.

Ah. Scarecrow. He'd always known he had MPD. It is what drew him towards psychology in the first place. Although Scarecrow was prominent in his childhood, he'd been mentally strong enough to separate them and control his own "illness". Something those weak-minded crazies at the asylum could never do.

Now, Scarecrow spoke to him clearer than ever and took their shared body over easily. Jonathan made a disapproving noise in the back of his throat. He could hear Scarecrow laughing at him in the back of his head.

"Stop it!" He said aloud. The laughter just grew louder. Ignoring it best he could, he placed the binoculars up to his eyes and magnified the view so that he could see into Alyss' apartment. She was rushing around, locking her door and windows. It made him want to laugh along with Scarecrow as both of them enjoyed her obvious fear and discomfort.

She went into her bedroom to get changed and Jonathan politely looked away. He had certain lines drawn about the difference between a watcher and a stalker, refusing to be called the latter. After a lengthy amount of time he chanced a look to see her dressed in thin cotton pants and a button up shirt. As soon as she curled up into bed clutching a wooden pole, a cat curled up against her stomach.

He watched as she fell asleep with the light on.

_She fears us. _Scarecrow giggled happily.

"Go away," Jonathan scowled into the darkness of his own apartment room.

_She feels fear. Let's make her feel more fear!_

"That's not the point of all this."

Scarecrow obviously did not like that answer. _What __**is**__ the point of all this?_

"She…" He stopped, unsure where to take the sentence that came to his mind. "She interests me."

_Really?_ An evil cackle echoed through his mind, making Jonathan hold his head and rock a bit to try to ease the annoying noise. A very lewd picture of the girl came to the forefront of his brain, pushed their by Scarecrow.

"NO! Not like that. I don't know why she interests me, but it's not like that." Dr. Crane got up and walked over to the rat-chewed mattress. An idea formed in his head. "I think…I think I want to help her with her fears."

_Boooooring._

_Author's Note: _Mwahahahaha! Reviews have influenced me to finish this earlier than I expected to! This time I've added in Crane's POV, which I like writing better because he's insane, but is harder for me because he's insane. Anyway, I hope everyone likes it!

Reviews have become a big motivator for me, so the more reviews I get, the more I'll write.


	3. Chapter Three: Down the FearHole

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of Batman or any of its characters. I do not make any profit than simply enjoyment of writing and hopefully, the enjoyment of the readers.

_Chi: _ Okay. Everyone, I officially love you all! Seriously. Thank you so much for reading this! I hope this continues to be enjoyable for you! KMN91 get's special hugs for epic-ness. 3

Fears to Face

Chapter Three – Down the Fear-Hole

Ayss received a call the next day. This time, a female officer by the name of Francis Olander talked to Alyss. Again, Alyss was of no help, but the woman was. She told Alyss that they had found notes written about her along with pictures drawn by Crane. The conversation had been held during lunch—which was a waste, considering she barely had two bites of her sandwich before the officer's words made her feel too sick to eat.

"It's probably nothing," Olander counseled. "You were his only human contact besides the asylum staff. We're pretty sure he was just grasping onto you as a symbol of the outside world." Sensing that her words were not calming the poor university student, she continued. "He's probably already forgotten you now that he's out of the asylum."

Alyss repeated the words to herself for the rest of the day. "He's probably already forgotten me now that he's outside of the asylum." _Although he did call me beautiful._ The thought sprang unbidden into her mind. She was blushing madly, half in embarrassment, half in revulsion that she cared. Why did she care what a crazy man thought of her? Certainly, he was handsome with his tall and slender frame, his brown hair that perfectly framed his face, and of course, his gorgeous blue eyes. She shut down her thoughts then and there. What was she thinking?

She slammed her lunch angrily into the trash bin, muttering about how pathetic she was. Still, she couldn't help but be pathetic and continue to think about him for the rest of her classes.

…

_Crane's POV_

Alyss was walking home from Gotham University. Jonathan watched her, following the oblivious girl, taking in every detail of her light blue jeans, classic black Converse, and a slightly oversize black sweat jacket. She was a very casual dresser, unlike most of the vain girls her age. It made him both happy and sad. He liked that she didn't spend a ridiculous amount of time on her appearance, although he would have enjoyed seeing her in something a bit fancier and form fitting. She had a beautiful curvy figure.

_Do you think she'll like our present?_ Scarecrow interrupted Jonathan's appreciation of her body.

"No," he whispered back quietly so no one else could hear. "But she's not supposed to like it."

Scarecrow laughed manically in Jonathan's head and the young doctor winced.

…

_Alyss' POV_

Alyss unlocked the door to her apartment and stepped in, closing it behind her and allowing her bag to drop on the floor before turning towards the living room and turning on the light. She let out a started scream so loud that she had to cover her mouth with her hand to stop it from startling her neighbors.

Dolls were placed in various positions around her living room, all facing her doorway. Porcelain dolls. Just looking at them made her shiver. She had a strange phobia of the creepy little things. She'd never liked them. It took a good ten minutes before she was able to move away from the door to sidle into the kitchen.

Grapping a large back garbage bag she went back into the living room and haphazardly tossed ever single doll she could find away. After disposing of all of them she slumped down onto her couch to relax over a cup of hot Earl Gray tea. Her hand lingered over her cell phone on the couch cushion next to her, debating on whether she should call the police.

Although she tried to persuade herself that this had nothing to do with a certain Dr. Jonathan Crane, her intuition told her she was being stupid and that was exactly who was tormenting her. He knew her fears. She'd thought it a silly, unimportant question during the interview, but really, answering honestly had been a dumb decision. He knew her fears.

She picked up her phone and snapped it open. The blue background was glaringly bright. Blue, like his eyes. She remembered thought haunted sapphire eyes peering through that bruised and damaged face. "…self mutilation…" Dr. Elizabethe Criste had said. Alyss felt a chill run down her spine at the thought that anyone could do that to themselves. In a padded room, no less.

"…A padded room," she muttered to herself, suddenly frowning. She knew that Arkham Asylum allowed their patients an hour a day to be free of their straightjackets while being carefully monitored by a staff member. It didn't make sense that he would have been able to do so much damage unless… Unless he didn't do it to himself.

The phone was closed and sitting on the coffee table before she realized her unspoken resolution. She would not call the cops on Crane. He didn't harm her. It was just a little scare. Nothing serious.

Nothing serious.

…

_Crane's POV_

Scarecrow was laughing again. Jonathan wished he would stop. It was so hard to think when his mind-mate was making so much noise. He gripped his head as the cackling grew louder, biting his lip and rocking back and forth.

"Scarecrow. Scarecrow, scarecrow, scarecrowscarecrowscarecrow…STOP!" The young doctor jerked off the wooden stool he was perched on and fell to the ground. Hallucinations of Batman appeared before him and the evil beast held his throat. Crane was punched in the face by the winged "hero" before the apparition dissolved away. Panting, Jonathan realized he'd been clutching his own throat and that he had slammed his left cheek into the floor.

_You're pathetic. Fear has no fear._ Scarecrow was disgusted with him.

"Leave me alone…" He looked up, outside his window at the light's on in Alyss' apartment. She had been stronger than him. Yes, fear overtook her, but she quickly disposed of it. He admired and respected her for that. It made him even more interested in her.

"Alyss," Dr. Jonathan Crane whispered into the night.

_Author's Note:_ Yay! Chapter Three is done! I'm now writing this story for two people: Color, the person our heroine is based off of, and KMN91, whose reviews make my fingers type a little faster and my mind work a little better. Hope you liked it!


	4. Chapter Four: The Pool of Tears

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of Batman or any of its characters. I do not make any profit than simply enjoyment of writing and hopefully, the enjoyment of the readers.

_Chi: _ 3 My writing has been on hyperdrive!

Fears to Face

Chapter Four – The Pool of Tears

Alyss woke up in an awkward position, sprawled on her couch with her clothes still on. Two of her cats were cuddled up to her. "G'morning, Zero and Nymphy," she said to the black kitten and brown tabby. Noticing her Maine Coon lying across the top of the couch she gave the feline a pat on the head. As soon as their human got up all the cats followed suit, racing her and each other to the kitchen.

The eighteen-year-old couldn't help but smile at her wonderful girls, despite the horrid night she had experienced. When she reached the kitchen she dished out cat food before getting herself a bowl of cereal. After eating, taking a quick shower, and getting dressed for the day, she ran out to get to her first class, a half-eaten piece of toast between her teeth.

For some reason, as she was waiting to cross the street alongside a mother and her five-year-old daughter she was reminded of her own parents. She'd held both their hands tight, for fear that if she let go, the cars would run her over as she waited for the light to turn green. Her mother had helped her pick her outfit and put it on: a black denim dress with a dark blue long sleeve and matching leggings. Her dad had bought her the patent leather Mary Janes just for the first day of school. They had been smiling and telling her how happy they were to have a kindergartener in the family. Alyss had said something about being the best kindergartener in the world and her dad laughed heartily. "We're so lucky to have you!" They both told her as they raced towards the other end of the street, both of them holding her so that she didn't have to walk. Then they smiled at each other and kissed over her head, and…

Alyss blinked and noticed that the light had already been green. The other people waiting to cross had already made it halfway over. She had to jog to make it across in time. As she continued on her way, she felt a warm tear glide slowly down her cheek. Her mom and dad had died together in a fire that had burned down the family estate. Pushing the now unhappy memory from her mind she tried to think of more productive things—like what she needed to do when she got to work that evening.

…

_Crane's POV_

_Are you having fun yet? _ Scarecrow asked, sullenly. He hadn't gotten to have his fun and it was starting to annoy him. He desperately needed a victim to torture and they'd had a nice long argument of why Alyss couldn't be said victim.

"I want to know what she is thinking," Jonathan watched the tear slide down her smooth check and wanted to catch it before it hit the ground. Why had she paused at the crosswalk?

_Why? It's no fun. Come on, we made more fear gas last night so let's see if it works today._

Usually, this was the time when Scarecrow got very annoying and loud, but for some reason Jonathan found it very easy to ignore him today, his mind was so centered on the girl and his plans for tonight.

He followed her to Gotham University and waited outside, reading a book he'd brought with him. This was one of his favorite parts. At the end of her class she'd walk down the walkway right past the bench he was sitting on and the last few times the path was really crowded and she'd brush against his foot with her leg.

He wasn't that lucky today. He waited until she'd reached the end of the pathway and it was safe for him to get up and follow her to her workplace—a little café on the corner of D Street between Gotham University and her apartment complex. Across the street from the Café de la Chance was a perfectly dark alleyway where he could sit undisturbed and watch her until it was the right time to carry out his plan.

…

Alyss walked into her workplace and immediately headed to the back room where there was a small set of lockers among the coffee beans and other supplies. She pulled her uniform out and changed in the employee bathroom, which was separate from the customer's because they used it as a cleaning supply closet. After thoroughly cleaning her hands she tied on her apron and got to work.

It quickly grew dark outside as the customers dwindled away. The other waitress left early because everything was going so slow. Alyss sighed and began cleaning when the last person left. Thinking she was done for the night she started to run through the shut down checklist when the front door opened and a slender man wearing a pair of large sunglasses walked in.

His suit was nice, especially on him, and he wore a warm black trench coat to keep out the chill. The man smiled and she immediately thought that he looked awfully familiar, she just couldn't remember why, though. She frowned and thought about it as he walked up to the counter. As soon as he did, she smiled welcomingly for him. "Hi! What can I get you."

"Whatever is good. Go wild with it."

"Okay." This wasn't the first time she'd gotten an order like that, so she began to make one of her favorite drinks.

…

_Crane's POV_

Jonathan Crane smiled. Waiting for this moment had been torture. Scarecrow had bugged him until he'd gone out, leaving his post, to find a man to torture. He'd used the deviation from his original plan to fit his own needs by searching out a well dressed man of his own size to mug. It hadn't been hard and it killed two birds with one stone. Scarecrow was happy and quiet, and Jonathan had a new outfit and more money.

It was all worth it. She'd checked out his suit when he walked in and gave a little nod of appreciation. He made a mental note that she seemed to like the gentleman look. When he gave her the money and took his coffee he thrilled at the touch of their hands.

"Thank you," he said, almost breathlessly. She was polite, beautiful, and warm. She treated him like a human being should be treated. All the things she had done when he first met her, all the things he wanted her to do, had come to expect her to do.

He stayed in the café until he was finished with his coffee before heading back out to hide in his alleyway and wait for her departure so he could walk her home.

…

When Alyss got home she headed over to her bedside table, where a picture of her parents was framed. Picking it up she crawled into the bed and held it to her, tears escaping as she allowed herself to cry over the loss of two amazing and beautiful people.

That night, she dreamt that she was drowning in a pool of her own tears and that her mysterious last customer gave her a black umbrella.


	5. Chapter 5: The CopChase and a Long Tale

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing of Batman or any of its characters. I do not make any profit than simply enjoyment of writing and hopefully, the enjoyment of the readers.

_Chi: _ Sorry I've been taking a while to write this new chapter. My college classes just started so I've been significantly slowed down. Also, it's getting to be crunch time for my acting (I'm in the local Rocky Horror Picture Show shadowcast as Columbia). I'll try to keep up a good pace of at least one chapter a day.

Fears to Face

Chapter Five – The Cop-Chase and a Long Tale

_Scarecrow POV_

Jonathan Crane ran, his nimble body carrying him away from the sirens. He was barely able to jump the metal fence at the end of the alley. His muscles had been redeveloping after their none-use in Arkham Asylum. How stupid of him to allow himself to be seen. He'd been waiting for Alyss to finish her class when the campus security guard recognized him. Luckily, he'd managed to duck behind a crowd of young students.

It was one of those times when he really appreciated Gotham, if only for its many dark corners and alleyways. After travelling through the maze of shadows he found himself back to the long-abandoned apartment where he set up his temporary lair. The materials for his next plan lay on the old bed and because of his early arrival he decided to get started.

_Is it time to have some fun?_

…

Officer Oliver Penelton glared at the LCD screen of his police-issued laptop. _Catch Scarecrow and put him back in Arkham Asylum. It's like the higher-ups expect us to just find him reading a newspaper in the park and that the crazy guy will come along quietly._ He took another sip of his black coffee and pulled up his notes. Pictures of a long haired, beautiful girl appeared on the screen. _Alyss Cromwell_. It was pretty much a dead end, but it was the only lead they had. He had to admit, if she was the reason Scarecrow escaped, the deranged man had good taste and a good hand for drawing. The young officer pulled up the girl's file and compared it to the piece of pencil art. It was creepily accurate and detailed for someone to draw after one meeting.

Shaking his head, Oliver pulled the laptop shut and leaned back in his office chair. He'd have to bring it up with Lt. Gordon and ask for the case to get taken up the line, AKA calling on Batman.

…

Bruce Wayne suited up and got in the tumbler, renamed the Batmobile. His sign was in the sky, letting him know that Lt. Gordon had a case for him and wanted to talk.

Really, it was all very standard procedure. Nothing too out of the ordinary. The police lost Scarecrow and, since Dr. Crane was, uncharacteristically, keeping a low profile, they weren't able to find him again. What _was_ a bit out of the ordinary was the fact that he received two folders instead of just Jonathan Crane's. The other was for a girl, a young, pretty university student that seemed to have visited Dr. Crane in Arkham Asylum a week before his escape. He's apparently become enamored with this female and that was the police department's best lead.

He nodded his head, took the folders, and left.

…

_Alyss' POV_

Alyss bit her lip and tapped her pen on the blank paper in front of her. The word-less piece of pressurized bark seemed to taunt her. The letters just would not come and help her write the next chapter of her book.

This chapter was about the murder of a very happy, loving couple—attesting to the fact that bad things happen to good people. Unfortunately, every single time she tried to put the gruesome murder onto the paper her eyes misted up and her face got hot, threatening tears.

Burned alive.

Not really, the crying type, she held in the excess of moisture in her eyes. The story of her parents filled her mind, replacing that of the made-up happy couple's. Her dad worked for Wayne Enterprise as an engineer and her mother was a scientist. They met when they were grouped together for a project. A project that lasted through their marriage and first child. They always laughed that their project was what kept them together. Alyss always thought that could only be true of their project had been true love, since no two people had been more than made for each other than her parents.

A long time ago, someone had broken into their modest house and set the kitchen on fire. It had entire engulfed the whole bottom floor by the time the fire department reached the house were Alyss slept alone, not truly realizing exactly how alone she was, in her attic bedroom. They rescued her down, unconscious by that time because of smoke inhalation.

Alyss spend the next six years with her aunts. At the age of sixteen, she got a decent enough scholarship to get a dorm at Gotham University to study writing. Finally, she got a job and her own apartment. She was on her own and she knew her parent's would have been proud.

Another tear leaked ostentatiously from between her eyelids at the memory. Hysteria, her Maine Coon came up to her and rubbed her face, sensing that something was wrong. She gave the sweet cat a few comforting pets before giving up on the chapter and going to make herself some tea.


End file.
